Sheriff’s Office to host ribbon-cutting ceremony for booking center

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the remodeled public safety building in Olathe on Friday. Submitted photo

After more than 18 months of construction activity in downtown Olathe, a dedication date has been booked for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Central Booking facility.
The project involves the transformation and reconstruction of the former Olathe Adult Detention Center into a central booking location for suspects charged with a crime in Johnson County.
A ceremonial ribbon-cutting celebration is scheduled at 10 a.m. Friday, July 20, at the remodeled public safety facility located at the southwest corner of Santa Fe Street and Kansas Avenue. The public event will feature a presentation of colors by the Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard, dedication speeches, and tours of the building until 4 p.m.
Central Booking operations will start in August.
“This facility is a win-win for everyone. Not only will the facility streamline our processes, but it will also shorten the time all officers are off the streets processing arrestees into jail,” Sheriff Frank Denning said.
Ed Eilert, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, agreed.
“Central Booking allows our public safety partners to more quickly return to their assigned beats and continue to protect the Johnson County community,” he said. “It’s an investment in the county’s top priority of public safety.”
The facility, located directly across Kansas Avenue west of the Johnson County Courthouse, will serve all police departments and public safety agencies in Johnson County. Law enforcement personnel will bring arrestees from their jurisdictions to be booked and processed before being either released on bond or housed at Central Booking or the Sheriff Office’s New Century Adult Detention Center while they remain in custody. More than 16,000 inmates are booked and processed annually by the Sheriff’s Office.
Renovation of the former Olathe Adult Detention Center into the new Central Booking facility began in January 2010 when all inmates and jail staff were transferred to the Adult Detention Center at the Fred Allenbrand Criminal Justice Complex at the New Century AirCenter located at the northeast edge of Gardner. That jail facility was expanded by 554 beds in 2009 to its current capacity of 818 beds.
The closing of the inmate holding component of the downtown Olathe jail was the first step towards the major renovation of the public safety facility which opened in August 1988.
The Johnson County Board of Commissioners in its role as the county’s Public Building Commission awarded the contract to JE Dunn Construction Company to complete the project in two phases. The total project authorization was set at $27,345,023, including design services by Treanor Architects and fixtures, furniture, and equipment contracts to other vendors.

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